Manning to FAA: Fax it and I'll ignore it

January 8, 2011

In the complicated Hot Creek predicament that turned into the $30 million loss for the town, the California Third Appellate District Court consistently hammered the Town and the Federal Aviation Administration for poor communications.

The three-member panel cited one instance for special consideration.

Early on in the process, after the Mammoth Lakes Town Council agreed on the development project, the FAA sent (by fax) a number of concerns to Bill Manning, the airport manager.

Manningâ€™s response was to simply not respond.

â€śI believed that (the FAA representativeâ€™s) form of correspondence was ridiculous,â€ť Manning testified, according to the court ruling.

â€śIf he had issues or comments that he wanted me to deal with, I believe he would have sent me a formal FAA letter.

â€śWe correspond regularly with the FAA. This â€“ the fax notes, were highly irregular.

â€śI just felt like it wasnâ€™t an official correspondence and I wasnâ€™t obligated to respond to it.â€ť